Most people think Mark Tarner doesn’t look 63 years old. "I blame my youthful appearance on Neoepicureanism," Mark explains. To wit, when Mark ambles into KAXE’s offices around 10:30 most mornings, the first words out of his mouth are, "What’s for lunch?" He means the first lunch of the day.

Neoepicureansim, for the uninitiated, is the religious belief that Life is One Long Meal. Corollaries to the above include Time Between Meals is For Planning Your Next Meal and the famous The More You Eat the More You Eat. Although Mark doesn’t spend much time actively proselytizing, his leadership role in Northern Community Radio and the example he sets have led to Neoepicureanism being widely adopted by KAXE staff and volunteers. As a result, the quest for food now dominates most fundraisers and staff meetings and may be spreading to other parts of KAXE’s operation as well.

Although he is obviously an enthusiastic eater, Mark is also a picky one, having been vegetarian for 30 years. Also figuring prominently in Mark’s worldview are Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. His favorite book is Shepherds of the Night by Jorge Amado.

Mark Tarner is KAXE’s Program Director. He is in charge of KAXE’s programs, schedule, music library, and operations. He trains, schedules, and supervises volunteers. He supervises and schedules the on-air staff. In terms of programs, programming, and KAXE’s on-air sound he is Head Honcho. With regard to programming decisions, the rest of the staff calls him Mr. Status Quo, although since Mark got his palm pilot his title has been shortened to Mr. Status.  He is also known as the Sultan of Soup, the Marquis of Music, and Brevity Boy.  He is respected for his musical knowledge and on-air execution.  In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Bill McKeever Award for programming excellence and on-air artistry.

Mark expresses surprise when volunteers tell him he sometimes inspires fear. "That couldn’t possibly be true," says Mark, doing his best imitation of an overly intellectual teddy bear. The staff believes Mark’s sometimes-crotchety demeanor is a natural outgrowth of his penchant for sleeping on a 2" foam pad instead of a bed. Rare visitors confirm that Mark’s tiny apartment is furnished only with the pad, a massive refrigerator, a stereo system, esoteric books and magazines in a plethora of languages, and an electronic dartboard. Visitors sit on the floor.

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